Schools Superintendent Jim McIntyre said looking at the work that has been done at the four schools, he feels good about the focus the district has brought to them.

And results will come.

“I think in a couple of those instances, we are beginning to see some real positive momentum and positive changes and improvements in those schools,” he said. “But it’s a three year-index, so those changes perhaps haven’t come soon enough to see the results as of yet.”

McIntyre said the district had already significantly intervened at the four schools by changing leadership and implementing additional initiatives, such as the addition of the community schools.

“We understand the urgency of making those changes,” he said. “These are schools that we are very clearly focused on school improvement.”

Greene has been on the list since the state’s first designation in 2012.

McIntyre said the school remaining on the list shows the district hasn’t made sufficient progress there yet, but he is optimistic about the school’s future.

“I think we’ve put in place a leadership team and strategies and initiatives that I believe will have a positive impact, both on the quality of instruction ... and student learning and success,” he said.

In 2012, Tennessee adopted an accountability system after the state was exempted from the federal No Child Left Behind school reform law that mandated that all children be proficient in reading and math by 2014.

Under that system, the state created three categories of schools — priority, focus and reward. Priority and focus schools are named every three years.

Schools identified as “priority” represent the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools in terms of academic achievement. Districts have one year to plan before their schools receive mandatory intervention, such as inclusion in the state’s Achievement School District or a district-led “Innovation Zone.”

Schools in the “focus” category represent the 10 percent of schools with the largest achievement gaps between groups of students, such as racial and ethnic groups, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, students with disabilities and English-language learners.

No other East Tennessee school system had schools identified on the “priority” list, but several did have schools on the “focus” list. Those districts included Alcoa, Anderson County, Blount County, Grainger County, Hamblen County, Loudon County and Sevier County.

The list of schools in the “rewards” category, the highest performing in the state, are expected to be released Thursday.

Three years ago, he said, Knox County had five schools on the “focus” list and three of those schools — Austin East Magnet High, Inskip Elementary and Beaumont Magnet Academy — were removed from the list.

“To me that’s a result of the focus that we gave to those schools around closing achievement gaps and making sure that every student is successful,” he said. “So I think that’s a success story. When you look at the resources ... we brought to those schools, those three school are no longer focus schools and I think that’s a great story.”

Kevin Huffman, the state’s education commissioner, said in a statement that he hoped to see the newest round of “priority” and “focus” schools continue to move students forward.

“This is hard work, but results from the first round of priority and focus schools show us that it’s doable. We’ve seen signs of hope and that’s why we believe it is critical to continue investing in these schools,” he said.

All three school-level accountability lists are preliminary, pending final approval by the State Board of Education on Aug. 26.

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